The Call
by KuriQuinn
Summary: "Your birthday," he answers stiffly, avoiding her eye. "I assume you want to mark it somehow? That's…what people do." [Part of the Legacy of Fire series]


**Summary:** "Your birthday," he answers stiffly, avoiding her eye. "I assume you want to mark it somehow? That's…what people do."

 **Disclaimer:** This story utilizes characters, situations and premises that are copyright Masashi Kishimoto, Shueisha, Shonen Jump and Viz Media. No infringement on their respective copyrights pertaining to episodes, novelizations, comics or short stories is intended by the author in any way, shape or form. This fan oriented story is written solely for the author's own amusement and the entertainment of the readers. It is not for profit. Any resemblance to real organizations, institutions, products or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All fiction, plot and Original Characters with the exception of those introduced in the books, manga, video games, novelizations and anime, are the sole creation of KuriQuinn and using them without permission is considered rude, in bad-taste and will reflect seriously on your credibility as a writer. You will be attacked by dimwitted bandits if you are found plagiarizing.

 **Warning:** _Spoiler_ s for pretty much everything up to _Naruto_ _Gaiden_.

 **Canon-Compliance:** Takes place during the _Blank Period_.

 **Fanon-Compliance:** Takes place several years before _An Inch of_ _Gold_ and _Unplanned._

 **Author's Note:** So I was debating about posting this, but then I figured, why not, it's not a random tumblr prompt, share the love. This is for Sakura's birthday, enjoy!

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"This," Sakura Uchiha grumbles as she drives her fist into the face of a particularly grimy bandit, "is not how I expected to spend my birthday."

Sasuke makes a vaguely inquiring noise as he carries out a variation of his _Shishi Rendan_ , sending his opponent flying through the air with several cracked bones.

"Never mind," she mutters, ducking a clumsy kunai strike and using her attacker's momentum to throw him over her shoulder.

The large band she and Sasuke have stumbled upon have been plaguing the nearby village for months, according to the inhabitants. They've take up residence on the only bridge in the area and have been charging travellers a toll to get by. Those who refuse have been violently robbed and left for dead, according to the warnings of several survivors.

It should have been the work of ten minutes to neutralise them and tie them up, but neither she nor Sasuke expected the majority of them to be former Kusa-nin. Even in this time of peace, missing-nin present a constant problem – especially those who made their livelihood pursuing war.

 _At least the Akatsuki had an actual purpose – these creeps just want to bleed people dry for their own benefit!_

In the end, in the name of expedience rather than anything else, Sasuke traps them all in a genjutsu and Sakura rounds them all up. She's kept the use of her strength to a minimum, not wanting to accidentally destroy the bridge they are trying to liberate.

"How long will the genjutsu last?" she asks as she finishes securing the dazed men together.

"Long enough to lead them back to the village," Sasuke says. "The headman didn't seem very confident in our success. I doubt he would send anyone after us to see if we survived."

"Well, you can't expect everyone to have heard of us," Sakura teases, stretching out her overworked muscles and cracking her knuckles. "In fact, I thought you preferred anonymity."

"Hm."

She wanders over and begins to examine him for signs of injury; she knows there's no point – none of the bandits were anywhere near as fast as he is – but it's an excuse to touch him. She finds as many of those as she can, these days, since he permits it.

Then they are retrieving their belongings from where they fell before the fight, and preparing to continue on their way.

"How did you picture it?"

Sakura jumps, a little startled by the non-sequitur, and looks up at her husband. "Hm?"

"Your birthday," he answers stiffly, avoiding her eye. "I assume you want to mark it somehow? That's…what people do."

It's a statement that comes out like a question, and Sakura giggles.

"You sound so much like Sai right now," she tells him, and her husband's expression sours like he doesn't know whether to be offended or confused. She can sort of see his point – she never imagined the day where she would compare Sasuke to Sai, instead of vice versa. "Don't worry about it. I haven't made a big deal about my birthday in years."

 _Not since before you left_ , she doesn't say out loud.

"But if you did?" he prompts, and she sees the calculation going on behind his eyes. Some long-buried social awareness has informed him that this is something of importance, and he's trying to at least make an effort at showing an interest.

She beams at the gesture, but shakes her head. "It's fine, really. I don't do very much. Dinner with my family and friends, eat lots of sweets that I wouldn't normally... But we don't have to do anything. I honestly didn't think about it until today – and that's only because I've been keeping track of my cycle."

Sasuke doesn't catch on right away, but when he does he goes red and turns away. "That's the sort of thing you think about in the middle of a fight?"

Sakura bites her lip to keep from laughing; six months of marriage, and he's still shy talking about anything related to their sex life.

 _Well, too bad, darling, one of us has to be aware of these things. It's way too soon for me to get pregnant – and honestly, I want you to myself a little longer!_

"I think about a _lot_ of things in the middle of a fight, it's called multi-tasking," she retorts. "Do you want to know what else I was thinking?"

The last question comes out as a leer, making him roll his eyes and walk away from her. Sakura laughs, but the subject is dropped.

She doesn't hear any more about it, and the rest of the day passes in the way as countless before have. She and Sasuke deliver the troublemaking bandits to the local authorities, she restocks their supplies while he sends a mission report (she's a little surprised, because she usually has to nag him about it), and they continue on their journey.

They eat their dinner ration quietly, and then make love _not_ so quietly by their campfire, and Sakura falls asleep perfectly content in her husband's arms. She might miss home, occasionally – and this might be the first birthday she has ever celebrated without her parents or her friends – but she has Sasuke for the first time ever, and that's its own gift.

One she wouldn't trade for anything.

A week later, they find themselves approaching one of the busier towns on the border between Fire Country and Grass Country. Sakura is confused.

"Weren't we supposed to be heading through the mountains?" she asks. "It's the fastest way to Iwa."

"I need to make a stop."

"For what?"

"You'll see."

Sakura rolls her eyes. Sasuke has never lost his propensity for being vague. It's better now, of course, usually he'll answer her if it's a matter of importance, but if it's something he considers trivial he becomes as noncommittal as ever. She knows it's an ingrained habit from his youth – being alone he never needed to clarify his own motives, and she suspects when he travelled with Taka he was used to just having his decisions followed.

It's a habit she's trying to break him of, slowly.

 _Konoha wasn't built in a day_ , she reminds herself.

Instead of getting upset, though, she quietly reminds him, "You're supposed to tell me when you change our travel plans."

"Hm."

From the tone, that's both an agreement and an apology, and she lets the matter drop. They enter the bustling town, joining the busy crowds of people doing their everyday business. Sasuke is tense, as per usual in a more populated area, and watches their surroundings from behind the curtain of his hair.

"Alright, what's around here anyway?" Sakura asks, curious as to what business has her husband deviating from his own plans.

"Food, for now," he says, nodding toward an _izakaya_ across the street."Come on."

"Didn't you have to make a stop somewhere?"

He glances up at the sun, judging its height, and shrugs. "It can wait a little bit."

She begins to protest, but her stomach growls a complaint. She sighs. "Alright, if you say so…"

To her surprise, when they get there, Sasuke indicates she should grab them a table while he orders. She spends several seconds staring at his back in surprise – he tends to avoid talking to people if he can make her do it – but shrugs and goes along with it.

"So, are you going to tell me what's going on, or just keep me guessing?" she asks him when he comes to sit.

Sasuke raises an eyebrow, as if to question what she's talking about. It's the Sasuke Uchiha version of _'who, me?'_ and she's not buying it for a second.

Their food arrives and Sakura can't help but stare. Since they started travelling, she's accustomed herself to simple fare – filling meals that are fulfill nutritional needs and provide energy, and which fit into their meagre budget. What their server places before her are a variety of her favourite dishes – anko dumplings, umeboshi and anmitsu.

"You…ordered all this?" she questions, staring at the spread in surprise.

Sasuke shrugs. "There aren't going to be any places to stop between here and Iwa. Might as well indulge while you can."

"I get that, but…why would spend money on this? You hate sweets," she protests.

"Which is why you're eating them and I'm not," he replies, busying himself with a plate of nigiri.

Her mind struggles to come up with another objection. "Can we afford this?"

"It's fine."

"But –"

"Just eat, Sakura, we can't sit here all day," he tells her.

She narrows her eyes at him in suspicion, but the food smells _so_ good. She decides to dig in first, and then question him again later. Possibly when he's full and his senses have dulled.

(Well, not dulled, but he tends to be in a better mood after he's eaten.)

Throughout the meal, he keeps glancing out the window, eye on the sun. At some point, he must see what he was looking for, because he stands.

"Come on. We have to go."

"What? Why?" Sakura has barely finished the last dumpling when he stands.

"We have an appointment to keep," he says, already heading out the door. She scrambles to grab her cloak and get to her feet, feeling wrong-footed and rushed.

' _What appointment?"_ she demands, her cheeks turning red in irritation. She is quickly approaching the end of her patience, and if Sasuke doesn't start talking, she's going to punch him.

"You'll see."

 _Make that a wall,_ she decides, cracking her knuckles. _Definitely throwing him into a wall. He can take it._

They find themselves in the public square, in front of a tiny glass structure; inside she can see a telephone.

"A phone booth," she states, feeling as if things have suddenly become very anti-climactic.

Phones have been cropping up in most developing towns lately, although most people still rely on letters. Telephones aren't even very common back home – when she left, there were only three located in the Hokage's residence, the hospital and the Intelligence Division. So although they are a novelty, it doesn't explain what has Sasuke behaving so…oddly today.

" _Darling_ ," she says sweetly, not quite managing to disguise the edge in her voice. "An explanation. Now, please."

"Here," he says, handing her a slip of paper with a number on it. She frowns at it, vaguely recognising it as the line to the Hokage's office. "Call it."

"Why?" she asks, suspicious – then worried. "Is there something wrong back home? Did we get orders to come back? Or – is someone sick, is that why – ?"

"Sakura. Just…do it," he groans, reminding her so much of his exasperated twelve-year-old self that she would laugh if she wasn't irritated.

She narrows her eyes, "Only because it could be life or death. And when I'm finished, you and I are going to have a long conversation about sharing vital information and generally not being a jerk."

She misses his reaction to her threat as the line suddenly connects, and someone picks up on the other end.

"Hello?" she greets, uncertain. "Ka – uh, Lord Kakashi?" She often forgets to call him by his title, which she knows he's fine with, but in official company it's not a good idea. "It's Sakura –"

" _HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"_

The sudden blaring, chorus of voices makes her jump, holding the receiver about a foot away from herself.

 _What the – ?!_

" _Belated_ birthday," Kakashi's dry voice corrects afterward.

"Congratulations, Sakura!" Naruto yells, as if they're both standing at opposite ends of a training ground and not connected by phone. "We miss you! When are you coming home?"

"Naruto?" she cries, eyes wide and a smile breaking out over her face despite her earlier ire. "And Kakashi-sensei – I – you guys – ?"

"We're not the only ones here, believe it!"

"C-congratulations on your birthday," Hinata says, so quietly after the burst of sound that Sakura has to strain to hear her.

"Yes - congratulations on becoming one year older, Ugly."

"Sai, don't say such insulting things!" Shizune cries, but then adds, "I hope you're well, Sakura,"

"Hey, Forehead!" another voice on the other end jeers. "Have you started getting any grey hair yet? Or are you already cheating and using that seal of yours?"

Sakura, dazed, lets out a startled laugh. "What…jealous, Pig?"

"As if – I'm going to be gorgeous when I'm ninety," her best friend sniffs, "But they say people with your complexion age horribly, so make sure you wear a hat in the sun or your face will look like boot-leather. You wouldn't want to stick Sasuke with a hag the rest of his life."

"Better a hag than a skank like you," Sakura sneers facetiously.

"Sakura, be polite!" another voice says sharply, and her jaw drops.

"M-Mom?"

"And your old man!" her father pipes up.

"You're both there, _too?!"_

"We haven't gotten a phone yet, and so your husband suggested Lord Seventh ask us to be here when you were scheduled to call in," her mother explains. "Congratulations on your birthday, sweetheart. I only wish you were home so we could celebrate it with you."

"We can't keep this up for very long," Kakashi goes on to apologise. "Long-distance is hard enough between Kage on a secure line, but I hear those payphones drop calls very easily. Hopefully Sasuke found you a decent one."

Her eyes flying to Sasuke. He is leaning in the doorway of the phone booth, pretending to look uninterested, but his eyes gleam like an inordinately pleased cat.

"… _dinner with my family and friends, eat lots of sweets that I wouldn't normally…"_

Her words from the day of her birthday come back to her, and suddenly everything clicks.

He planned this.

 _You sneak,_ she mouths, leveling a mock glare at him. Which causes him to shrug and turn his back on her, but not before she notices the smirk on his lips.

"Remember," her father is joking, "When you get old, your secrets are safe with your friends – they'll never share them because they can't remember them!"

Naruto guffaws, and Sai muses, "Ah. I understand. Because old age brings with it neurological deficiency."

"That's…er…not what I was going for…"

Sakura is laughing again, delighted. There's an itch in her nose and a tightness in her eyes that warn that tears are imminent, but she doesn't care.

"Thank you all so much," she says. "I didn't expect to hear anything from you – I mean, you're all busy, you didn't have to take time out of your schedules –"

"It's either this or expense reports," Kakashi tells her.

Shizune starts to say something, but there is a warbled noise on the line.

"I missed that," Sakura says. "I think the connection is giving out."

"Then we'll make it quick," Ino says. "We miss you. I can't wait for you to get home, we have _so_ much to talk about!"

"Don't worry about the clinic, Sakura, it's still running smoothly," Shizune adds. "We continue to receive quite a lot of support. It will all be here for you when you return."

"Thank you…"

"Oi! Tell Sasuke he'd better be treating you right!" Naruto orders. "Or I'll march out there and whip his sorry ass, believe it!"

"Naruto, for once in your life, can you not make this about you and Sasuke?" Kakashi sighs.

"Have you had birthday sex yet?" Sai wants to know.

There's the sound of an open hand smacking against skin. "Don't you ask my daughter that! You respect their privacy, young man!"

"I…apologise."

"That being said, sweetheart, when are we getting grandchildren?" her mother asks pointedly. "You only have so much time, dear, and if you don't hurry –"

" _Ehh?! Mom, stop talking!"_ Sakura shouts into the receiver, face burning. "I can't believe you're saying this! I'm only twenty-one!"

In his place by the door, the back of Sasuke's neck turns red, ands he knows he's not as ignorant to the conversation going on as he pretends.

"Let us know when you reach Iwa safely," her father says. "It's always a comfort to receive your hawk."

"Of course, Dad," she whispers.

"And maybe send us an actual letter once or twice instead of a note," her mother demands. "I don't have the patience to decipher what you mean. And what about some pictures, hm? Would it kill you to find somewhere and snap a few keepsakes so I know you're both taking care of your health?"

"We're kind of trying to keep a low profile," Sakura deflects, and then winces as a crunching, static sound drowns out her words and any response.

" – like we're losing you," she hears Kakashi says when the sound comes back.

"Yeah, I think so too," she agrees. "I'm so happy to have spoken to you all – Sasuke and I miss you guys. We'll talk again soon, alright? Goodbye!"

" _Goodb –!"_

There's a click, and then a dial tone.

Her world seems to shift, the brief illusion of being back home disappearing, replaced once more with the surrounding market place. Sasuke straightens up, considering her, and something like alarm crosses his features at the sight of her teary eyes.

"Are you alright?"

"Thank you," she whispers. "I didn't…I never expected…"

She hadn't realised how much she missed them all. Talking to them exercised a demon she didn't even know she had, but she finds herself unable to articulate that point.

She shakes her head in an effort to clear it.

Then, she grabs him by the hand and begins to drag him away from the phonebooth.

"Sakura – what are you – ?"

"We need to get out of here," she tells him, looking for the closest route out of the town centre.

"…Why?"

"Because I'm about to rip off all of your clothes, and I don't think these nice people would appreciate me doing that in public."

Sasuke's face burns, but he allows her to lead him away without protest.

終わり

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 _Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated!_

 **クリ**


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